Stuart Woods - Dead In The Water

"Picking up a charterer."

"Anybody I know?"

"Beats me; name of Mr.and Mrs.Chapman; they haven't shown up yet. We're supposed to be out of here by midnight. She's being refueled now."

"Where you bound for?"

"Way up the chain of islands; St.Thomas is our first call after we leave here."

"The first U.S. port, huh? That's a long passage. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Thanks, yes."

"Thomas, bring another round to…"

"Sam's my name," the young man said, sticking out a hand.

"I'm Stone."

"First name, or last?"

"First." Stone clinked glasses with the skipper, and they both drank. "Where's this charterer coming from?"

"Beats me. They're supposed to fly in this evening, and we leave as soon as they get here."

"A night passage, huh? They must be in a hurry."

"That's why we're refueling; the boat eats up gas at any kind of speed."

"Can you make it to St.Thomas at speed without refueling?"

"It's at the outer limits of our range, but we can do it with no headwind, and down here the trades will be on our beam. We'll be in the lee of the island chain, so it will only be rough once in a while."

"Where is the boat based?"

"Fort Lauderdale."

"I've got a client wants to sell a yacht up there soon; can you recommend a good broker?"

"Sure," Sam said, taking a card from his shirt pocket. "Crockett and Smith; they handle all our charter work. They're good people."

"So if I wanted to charter Race, I'd get in touch with not you?"

"That's right; we're in constant touch. You really in the market?"

"Maybe next winter," Stone said. "How much red there in that sort of charter?"

"Not much. You'd put down a fifty percent deposit, the rest thirty days in advance."

"That what this guy Chapman did?"

Sam shook his head. "This one was on short notice, he'd have to wire-transfer the money right away. The deal only got made a couple of days ago. We had just dropped off a party in Guadeloupe, so we were nearby. works out really well for us, too, since it will us back to U.S. waters. My next charter is out of Juan, so it's perfect; we don't have to deadhead all way and burn up a lot of the owner's fuel."

"What does she cost, by the week?"

"Fifty-five grand, dry, sixty-five all in, booze and everything."

Stone laughed; "Forget my interest in chartering; that's out of my range."

"Don't feel bad; it's out of just about everybody's

"Think I could get a look at her interior while you're here? I have a client or two who might be interested in chartering."

"Sure thing," Sam replied, tossing down the rest of his drink. "How about right now?"

"Great; let's go."

The two men walked out of the Shipwright's Arms and across the lawn toward the marina.

"What's her length?" Stone asked.

"Sixty-seven feet overall; draws six feet, so we can cruise the Bahamas."

"How many cabins?"

"Four; one big one for the owner, and three pretty good-sized ones. She has a little less volume than most boats her length; that's because of the speed designed into her."

They walked down the pontoon and went up the boarding ladder. Sam led the way, showing off the bridge and the navigational gear, then the saloon, complete with bar and entertainment center, featuring a big-screen television and video library. The owner's cabin was, indeed, luxurious, and the other cabins, although smaller, were equally plush.

"I'm impressed," Stone said as he descended to the pontoon again. He stuck out his hand. "Thanks for the tour, and good luck." He walked back up to the Shipwright's Arms and found Thomas.

"Thomas, I've never seen many airplanes out at the airport besides Chester's; do you get many outside aircraft in here?"

"Not many," Thomas replied. "Chester had the only license to land here any time he liked. Charter services from the other islands have to phone the airport office and get permission to land, usually twenty-four hours in advance. It's nothing but red tape, really."

"Do you think you could find out if any aircraft are expected in today or tonight?"

"I can call the guy who runs the airport," Thomas said.

"Thanks."

Thomas used the phone and came back. "Nobody coming in today or tonight," he said.

"What would happen if an airplane landed without prior permission?"

"Big fine, for sure, and they might even confiscate the airplane if they got mad enough, but no airplane from the islands would try that. All the charter services know the score. What's up, anyway?"

"The skipper of the big motor yacht that came in this afternoon says he's meeting a charter client who's flying in today."

"Well, that's going to come as a big surprise to the folks out at the airport."

"Yeah," Stone said. "See you later." He walked back down to the marina and boarded Expansive. "Hello, below," he called out.

"Stone, is that you?" Allison's voice called back.

"Sure is." He started down the companionway.

"I'm not feeling very well," she called out. "Would you mind coming back later this evening?"

Stone stopped halfway down the steps.

"Stone?"

"I have to talk to you right now," he said and started down again.

"Please don't!" she cried, but he was already in the saloon. There were half a dozen packed duffels piled near the steps, and Allison had a safe open behind the navigation station. "Dammit," she said, "are you deaf?"

"What time are you planning to leave?" he asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, closing the safe and putting some papers into her late husband's briefcase.

"What time?" he asked again.

She began going through the drawers next to the chart table, apparently looking for something.

Stone walked into the aft cabin and looked around. He opened a closet door and found only a few things hanging there, along with a lot of empty hangers. He walked back into the saloon. "What time are you leaving?" he asked a third time.

She looked at him for a long time without expression. "Sometime after midnight," she said finally.

Stone sat down on the sofa opposite the chart table. "You can't do it," he said. "You know the penalty if you're caught running. You'll be judged guilty without even the formality of a trial, and they'll hang you."

"They're going to hang me anyway," she said.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Stone," she said. "Can't you see the way this is headed? They've stacked the deck against me in every possible way. The jury will probably be stacked against me, too. Sutherland wants my hide on his wall, and he's going to get his way."

"Allison, listen to me. We've got a shot at an acquittal, really we have."

"And if I'm not acquitted?"

"Then we turn on the pressure on the prime minister. Sutherland has already heard from both Connecticut senators and God knows who else. If they try to hang an American citizen under these circumstances, the world will fall on them. The pressure on the prime minister will be unbearable; he'll have to cave in."

"These people can do whatever the hell they want," she said. "They're in this insular little world of theirs, and nobody has ever cared about what went on here."

"Until now. Do you know that you're already very nearly world famous? Every television station on the planet has run a story about you. On American television you're right up there with Princess Di for air time."

"I'm the flavor of the week, that's all," she sighed. "And probably half the people who heard about it think I'm guilty. Anyway, there would only be forty-eight hours between a conviction and an execution. That's not enough time to build outrage and get some sort of intervention. Don't you think I've thought about this? I've hardly thought of anything else."